CASE STUDY

OF A CHILD
AGE 4
M A RY L A K E
EDU 220-1001
 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF A 4-YEAR-OLD
Emotional Development Psychosocial/Social Development
“Often tests people to see who “Likes to imitate adult activities; has
can be controlled.” good imagination.”
“Is boastful, especially about “Relies less on physical aggression; is
self and family.” learning to share, accept rules, take
Moral/Character turns.”
Developments
“Is becoming aware of right
and wrong; usually has
desire to do right; may blame
others for own wrongdoing.”
Cogntive/Intellectual
Physical Development
Development
“Is very active and consistently
“Nightmares are common.”
on the go. Is sometimes
“Has imaginary friends and
physically aggressive.”
active fantasy life.”
“Has rapid muscle growth.”
(University of Washington, 1993)
TYPICAL PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Gross (Large) Motor Skills
 Whirls around, turns, somersaults and hangs on bars. Fine (Small) Motor Skills
 Hops several times in a row.  Builds straight block towers.
 Climbs large play equipment.  Draws a house and person.
 Jumps forward using a forward arm action.  Prints name.
 Jumps up and down.  Forms crude shapes with clay.
 Throws ball overhead with less body movement.  Cuts on lines with scissors.
 Bounces ball and catches ball with elbows in front of body.  Brushes teeth, combs hair and washes hands.
 Can hop on one foot, skip and jump  Dresses self except for tying shoes.
 Can catch a ball with both hands  Develops hand preference.
 Can catch a beanbag  Dresses and undresses him/herself
(Child Development Institute, 2015)  Can copy a simple design
 Uses scissors to cut a straight line
(Child Development Institute, 2015)
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
“The typical 3- to 6-year-old:
Gains about 4 to 5 pounds per year
Grows about 2 to 3 inches per year
Has all 20primary teeth by age 3
Has 20/20 vision by age 4
Sleeps 11 to 13 hours at night,
most often without a daytime nap”
(Medline 2017)
TYPICAL PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
LEVEL ACCORDING TO SNOWMAN
“Preschool children are
extremely active. They have
good control of their bodies
and enjoy activity for its own
sake.”
“Large-muscle control
is better established
than small-muscle
“Young children find it control and eye–hand
difficult to focus their eyes coordination”
on small objects. Therefore,
their eye–hand
coordination may be
imperfect. If possible,
minimize the necessity for
the children to look at small
things.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 77 - 78)
4-YEAR-OLD PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
CHARACTERISTICS (OBSERVATION)
The 4-year-old girl I observed is tall for
her age, her mother told me she is in the
90th percentile. She was playing at a
McDonalds play place and she had no
trouble going up to the top very quickly,
then maneuvering all of the elements in
the playset. She had just been to her first
ballet class so she was showing me the
things she had learned.
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS
“Preschoolers’ large muscles are more
developed than those that control
fingers and hands. Therefore, “Provide plenty of
preschoolers may be quite clumsy at, or opportunities for children
physically incapable of, such skills as to run, climb, and jump.”
tying shoes and buttoning coats. Avoid
too many small-motor activities, such as
pasting paper chains. Provide big “Encourage all children
brushes, crayons, and tools.” to participate in tasks
that emphasize gross
motor skills and tasks
that emphasize fine
motor skills.”

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 77-78)

TYPICAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS
“Romantic attachment to opposite sex parent, jealousy of
same-sex parent. Fears the dark and injury”

“Develops responsibility, guild, and pride”

(Child Development Institute, 2015)

“Emotionally, four-year-olds continue to learn what causes

certain feelings and realize that others may react to the same
situation differently. They have learned to better manage
intense emotions with coping strategies like talking it out or
drawing a picture. Four-year-olds also show further progress
in their social interactions with peers, such as by smoothly
joining in a group play situation, being sympathetic to others,
or suggesting ways to resolve conflicts.”
PBS Parents. (2017).
 TYPICAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORS
ACCORDING TO SNOWMAN
“Kindergarten children tend to
express their emotions freely and
“Jealousy among classmates
openly. Anger outbursts are
is likely to be fairly common,
frequent. It is probably desirable
as kindergarten children
to let children at this age level
have much affection for the
express their feelings openly, at
teacher and actively seek
least within broad limits, so that
approval. When there are
they can recognize and face their
30 individuals competing for
emotions.”
the affection and attention
of just one teacher, some
jealousy is inevitable.”

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 40)

4-YEAR-OLD EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR
CHARACTERISTICS (OBSERVATION)
She was shy at first and did not seem to
want to play,(there were no other kids at
that time playing) she has a new brother,
6-months old, and she was not being
mean to him but a little ruff. Her mom
told me she is jealous of him. Another
little girl showed up and my girl started
referring to her as a friend within five
minutes.
 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS
Encourage Their Kind Impulses
“Use descriptive praise when you
see your child reaching out to
someone else with compassion. This
reinforces their impulse to act with
compassion. This might sound like:
“Pretend Play: Caring for Baby
 ‘I was sad and you gave me a
Young children are often interested
hug. That hug helped me feel in babies. Have your child learn
better. Thank you for being so more about caring for an infant by
kind.’ role-playing with a doll or stuffed
 ‘You shared your toy trucks at animal.”
the playground. That was kind
and made your friend feel happy (PBS Parents, 2017)
inside."

(PBS Parents, 2017)

 TYPICAL COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENTS
Cognitive development:
“preoperational thought.
Children gradually acquire
the ability to conserve and
decenter but are not capable
of operational thinking and
are unable to mentally
reverse operations.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 78)
• “Is curious about how things work.
• Begins to understand reasoning of caregivers.
• Interested in size and shape.
• Identifies colors.
• Counts from one to ten.
• Counts two or more objects.
• Asks why questions.
• Responds to how questions.
• Learns name, address, phone number, sex, age
and parents names.
• Holds up fingers to indicate age.
• Uses bathroom words and laughs.
• Enjoys doing things for self.
• Develops better understanding of cause and
effect.
• Distinguishes between fact and fiction”
(University of Washington, 1993)
COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENTS ACCORDING TO PIAGET
“Stages of Cognitive Development
Organization and adaptation are what Piaget called invariant functions. This
means that these thought processes function the same way for infants,
children, adolescents, and adults. Schemes, however, are not invariant. They
undergo systematic change at particular points in time. As a result, there are
real differences between the ways younger children and older children think
and between the ways children and adults think. The schemes of infants and
toddlers, for example, are sensory and motor in nature. They are often
referred to as habits or reflexes. In early childhood, schemes gradually
become more mental in nature; during this period, they are called concepts or
categories. Finally, by late adolescence or early adulthood, schemes are
complex and result in what we call strategic or planful behavior.”

“Preoperational Stage, two to seven;

Gradually acquires ability to conserve and decenter but not capable of
operations and unable to mentally reverse actions.”

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 40)

COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS
ACCORDING TO VYGOTSKY
“ Instruction and the Zone of Proximal Development
This discussion of empirical and theoretical learning illustrates Vygotsky’s belief
that well-designed instruction is like a magnet. If it is aimed slightly ahead of
what children know and can do at the present time, it will pull them along,
helping them master things they cannot learn on their own.”

“A technique called scaffolding

Just as construction workers use
external scaffolding to support
their building efforts, Vygotsky
recommended that teachers
similarly support learning in its
early phases. The purpose of
scaffolding is to help students
acquire knowledge and skills they
would not have learned on their
own.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 54)
4-YEAR-OLD COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL
CHARACTERISTICS (OBSERVATION )
I think she did exhibit some of the typical developments I
found in my research, but some she did not, e.g., she did
tell me about items she had in her bag and described
them by their color and was making shapes out of a bead
neckless she had with her. She was not distinguishing
between fact and fiction, e.g., she was telling me about
her toys and kept saying “I have a lot, a lot, a lot, of toys
many times so I asked her where she kept all of her toys
and she said a secret house in her backyard.
 COGNITIVE/INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS
“General factors to keep in mind:
Children are having their first
experiences with school routine
and interactions with more than
a few peers and are preparing
for initial academic experiences
in group settings. They need to
learn to follow directions and
get along with others.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 78)
“Parents and other caregivers can support healthy brain growth
by speaking to,
playing with,
and caring
for their child.
Children learn
best when
parents take
turns when
talking and playing, and build on their child’s skills and
interests. Nurturing a child by understanding their needs and
responding sensitively helps to protect children’s brains from
stress. Speaking with children and exposing them to books,
stories, and songs helps strengthen children’s language and
communication, which puts them on a path towards learning
and succeeding in school.”
(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019)
PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENTS
“Most children have one or two best friends, but these friendships may change rapidly.”

“Preschoolers tend to be quite flexible socially; they are usually willing and able to play with most of the
other children in the class.”
“Favorite friends tend to be of the same gender, but many friendships between boys and girls develop.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 78)

“Prefers to play with other children, becomes competitive, prefers sex appropriate
activities”
“Likes to share, cooperative play with other children, Intense curiosity & interest in
other children’s bodies. Imaginary friend.”
(Child Development Institute, 2015)
PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
ACCORDING TO ERIKSON

“Initiative Versus Guilt (Four to Five Years; Preschool to Kindergarten)

The ability to participate in many physical activities and to use language sets the stage for
initiative, which “adds to autonomy the quality of undertaking, planning, and ‘attacking’ a task
for the sake of being active and on the move.” If four- and five-year-olds are given freedom to
explore and experiment and if parents and teachers take time to answer questions, tendencies
toward initiative will be encouraged. Conversely, if children of this age are restricted and made
to feel that their activities and questions have no point or are a nuisance to adults and older
siblings, they will feel guilty about acting on their own.”

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 29)

4-YEAR-OLD PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL
CHARACTERISTICS (OBSERVATION)
My girl made a new friend at the play place and
referred to the other girl as her friend, not her
new friend, but her best friend. She came back
to our table and started telling her mom and I
all of the things she had learned about the
other girl, (that she had just met) and also told
me about all of her friends in her ballet class,
(that morning was her first time meeting for
that class.)
PSYCHOSOCIAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
Free play provides multiple benefits to young children
Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 78)

Psychosocial development: initiative vs. guilt. Children need opportunities for free
play and experimentation, as well as experiences that give them a sense of accomplishment.
Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 78)

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 78)

 TYPICAL MORAL/CHARACTER
DEVELOPMENTS
Is becoming aware of right and wrong; usually has desire to do right; may blame
others for own wrongdoing.

Finds other's opinions of self to be important.

Is more self-controlled and less aggressive.

Uses extreme verbal threats such as, "I'll kill you," without understanding full
implications.

(University of Washington, 1993)

TYPICAL MORAL/CHARACTER
DEVELOPMENTS ACCORDING
TO KOHLBERG
“LEVEL 1: PRECONVENTIONAL MORALITY.
(Typical of children up to the age of nine. Called
preconventional because young children do not really
understand the conventions or rules of a society.)
Stage 1: Punishment-obedience orientation.
The physical consequences of an action determine
goodness or badness. Those in authority have superior
power and should be obeyed. Punishment should be
avoided by staying out of trouble.
Stage 2: Instrumental relativist orientation.
An action is judged to be right if it is instrumental in
satisfying one’s own needs or involves an even exchange.
Obeying rules should bring some sort of benefit in
return.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 61)
TYPICAL MORAL/CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS
ACCORDING TO GILLIGAN
“Gilligan’s View of Identity and Moral Development
Carol Gilligan. . .argues that Erikson’s view of identity development and
Kohlberg’s view of moral development more accurately describe what occurs
with adolescent males than with adolescent females. In her view, Erikson’s and
Kohlberg’s ideas emphasize separation from parental authority and societal conventions.
Instead of remaining loyal to adult authority, individuals as they mature shift their loyalty
to abstract principles (e.g., self-reliance, independence, justice, and fairness). This
process of detachment allows adolescents to assume a more equal status with adults. It’s
almost as if adolescents are saying, ‘You have your life, and I have mine; you don’t intrude
on mine, and I won’t intrude on yours.’ But, Gilligan argues, many adolescent females
have a different primary concern. They care less about separation and independence and
more about remaining loyal to others through expressions of caring, understanding, and
sharing of experiences. Detachment for these female adolescents is a moral problem
rather than a sought-after developmental milestone. The problem for them is how to
become autonomous while also being caring and connected.”

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 63)

TYPICAL MORAL/CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS
ACCORDING TO PIAGET

Piaget’s Analysis of the Moral Judgment of the Child

Because he was intrigued by all aspects of children’s
thinking, Piaget became interested in moral
development. He began his study of morality by
observing how children played marbles. (He first
learned the game himself, so that he would be able to
understand the subtleties of the conception.) Piaget
discovered that interpretations of rules followed by
participants in marble games changed with age.

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, p 58)

4-YEAR-OLD MORAL CHARACTERISTICS
(OBSERVATION)

The little girl I observed told me her

brother was sick. He had been to the
doctor while her dad took her to the new ballet
class. He was getting his immunizations. She
assumed he was sick because of the trip to the
doctor, she told me he gets sick when she kisses
him. She then got in his face and gave him a very
wet kiss.
MORAL/CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
Help the child be responsible and discover the consequences of his/her
behavior. Be aware of your feelings and try to understand his/her perspective.

Notice and reinforce child's self-control, e.g., the ability to wait,

to share belongings.

Provide clear limits; enforce them consistently, but not harshly.

(University of Washington, 1993)

 REFERENCES
References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Child development. Retrieved

from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html

Child Development Institute. (2015). The ages and stages of child development. Retrieved

from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc

Medline. (2017). Adolescent Development. Retrieved from

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002003.htm

PBS Parents. (2017). Child development tracker Ages 2- 8. Retrieved

from http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/

Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2015). Psychology Applied to Teaching, 14th ed. Stamford,

CT: Cengage Learning.

University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development guide.

Retrieved from

http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htm